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Friday, July 24, 2015

oh my stars! quilt complete!!!

Welcome to finish it up Friday!﻿

Late last Friday night, I put the final stitches in my "oh my stars!" quilt. I still can't believe that I hand pieced an entire quilt....and I can't believe that it is actually DONE! I started the quilt back in April 2011 and it was inspired by Jess' travel quilts. (She has a video tutorial here, that I used to get started.)

This quilt was a labor of love, to say the least! I started by cutting out my own templates (2" 60 degree diamonds) from cardboard. I English paper pieced (hand pieced) the entire top with countless tiny stitches. I drafted my own side templates to fill in the gaps and to make the edges straight. I couldn't bear cutting through any hand stitching! It was worth the extra time and effort to make that happen.

After all that time invested in the top, I had to hand quilt it! I thought it would be a good winter project, but I ended up quilting most of it this spring and early summer. Funny how that happened! I basted it last fall, and I'm quite surprised that I sped through the hand quilting process that quickly.

For the fabric, I used 30's reproduction fabrics and polka dots...and I'm so glad that I made that choice early on. It definitely was the right choice! That pink star is feed sack fabric that came from my grandma's house. I love that there is some of that included in this quilt! I also LOVE that gingham bias binding!

My original plan was to back this quilt with red and white polka dots (always an obvious choice for me) but I had yards and yards of this light orange coral-ish color in my stash. It worked out very well as backing and it felt good to use something I had on hand.

The first time I pieced the back (which I machine stitched) I didn't line up the polka dots, but it felt all choppy, so I cut the pieces apart. On the second attempt, I carefully pieced the repeat so the polka dots lined up. So much better! Can you see the joining seam? I love that it's barely discernable. I guess I'm kind of geeky that way! :)

The quilt looks great draped over a chair....

...and especially pretty at the end of my bed! I'm determined that after all that work, I'm going to actually USE it! The quilt measures 62" x 82".

Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week. Thank you for joining me for finish it up Friday!!!

96 comments:

Oh Amanda it's BEAUTIFUL!! I remember you starting it and it's so lovely to see such a true magnum opus finally finished. It must hold so many memories both in the fabrics and over the course of the last few years. What a treasure- may it keep you warm and snug for many years!

Oh my goodness. This is so inspiring. It's beautiful, and I'm so encouraged to see something this big hand pieced AND hand quilted. I have epp hexies started and tucked away, but I'll think of this quilt the next time my hands are idle - I would love to inch away at a project and end up with something even half this beautiful. Thank you for sharing!

What a fantastic labor of love! Beautiful quilt and it's wonderful you have some history in it too. I especially loved that you are going to use it. Congrats to you on a wonderful, and useful, work of art.

What a fantastic labor of love! Beautiful quilt and it's wonderful you have some history in it too. I especially loved that you are going to use it. Congrats to you on a wonderful, and useful, work of art.

What a fantastic labor of love! Beautiful quilt and it's wonderful you have some history in it too. I especially loved that you are going to use it. Congrats to you on a wonderful, and useful, work of art.

Congratulations on this incredible finish! All that work was so worth it. Love the fabrics you chose - especially sweet that you included some from your Gramma. The backing and binding are the perfect fit. And yes, that matched backing had to be!

Truly a wonderful quilt! I love the 30's fabrics. I have a whole bin that I've not yet decided how to use them. This is inspirational! And, I am looking forward to learning to hand quilt and making such beautiful heirlooms :)

What a beautiful quilt - and inspiring!! I don't have a great desire to hand-finish a quilt, but I am thoroughly impressed at the fortitude it would take to do so. Your quilt is an instant heirloom for your family and lovely to look at!

You are truly a versatile quilter now, with this beauty under your belt......YOU CAN DO ANYTHING !

Seriously, congratulations....you did a wonderful job, and there's nothing like using such a work of beauty and finding yourself in awe as your eye falls upon ALL THOSE STITCHES, and knowing that you put each one in BY HAND ~.~

Now that I'm older and slowing down (or rather speeding up my quilting by doing it by machine), I'm so glad that I had the time to do so many by hand, and still have many of them to enjoy. Now, I'm impatient, afraid I won't finish them if I don't machine-quilt them.

A classic heirloom quilt - what an accomplishment Amandajean! I love how you have pieced and even quilted the edges too. Did you use the same background fabric throughout? It looks like some are cream and some in white in the photos.

beautiful! Question, what type of needle do you use for the hand quilting? I've been hand stitching my binding on but finding that getting my needles to easily pierce the fabric is not going well. Suggestions?

A great vintage repro quilt. The fabrics match a pattern from that would be from that era. Hand quilting and vintage repro prints compliment each other. Great job on matching points. Special to have fabric from a grandmother.

That is a beautiful quilt. I hand-pieced and hand-quilted the first quilt I ever made, about 30 years ago for my oldest daughter. With 4 little children running around, I found it difficult to find time to sit down at a sewing machine so making it by hand just made sense. I could sit in the same room where the children were playing while stitching away. A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of mending, re-backing and re-quilting the quilt with new batting in between (re-done all by hand, of course). It will always be my favorite quilt and to think it lasted 30 years before needing attention! Something about making a quilt all by hand makes it really special. I am sure you will feel the same way about this lovely quilt.

Hand stitching and quilting is such an amazing, soothing process and I'm so glad that you enjoyed yours. It is a reality check for where this craft that so many of us enjoy came from and creates a real affinity for the fabric and your effort. Beautiful job. Looking forward to see what's next on the hand stitching list!

Look at those points! Check out those amazing hand stitches! I don't see a seam! And how about those polka dots all lined up! You are indeed geeky--the best kind of geeky!! What a fantastic quilt and well worth all the time and energy you poured into it!

I just loooooove this! My first quilt was a small throw size that I hand pieced from beginning to end. I loved the process. I think your quilt is wonderful. Did you use a hoop to tackle the hand quilting? This is what quilting is all about I think. Slapping together a top on your sewing machine and sending it off to the long arm quilter......it is just not the same. Mind you I have done a fair number of those as well, but there isn't the same satisfaction doing it that way. Congratulations on a great finish.

Wow. Oh, my stars certainly lives up to it's name, Amanda Jean. It's gorgeous! I love how vintage this quilt looks, from those feedsack fabrics to the gingham binding and then your wonderful hand quilting. I would want this quilt on hand to be enjoyed and admired every day of the week, it's that fabulous. Congrats on a much anticipated and beautiful finish, sweet friend.

Congrats on the hand quilting finish. I have been following along as the project progressed; I just love it! Is there a template for the diamond? I hand stitch out on the pontoon in the summer and this would be perfect for my next project.

A beautiful hand-made finish! Dont you love the thought that you have created an heirloom and years down the way your family will still treasure it for its history as well as its beauty. Congratulations! xx

Your quilt makes me smile so much! I've so enjoyed watching the progress via your blog, and now to see the finished product with all that love poured into it! (Not to mention your grandma's authentic feed sack.) This is such a wonderful finish!